COMA: Meaning

This is the third installment in a four-part series diving deeper into a bible-reading tool with the acronym “COMA” standing for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application. Our live Zoom study has now concluded, but you can view the study materials and syllabus we used here.

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COMA: Meaning

BY Robert Krumrey

We have almost made it to finish line! We’ve looked at Context and we’ve made Observations about our text. These two parts of the process are helping us get at the original intention of the author. This intention is informed by a particular people living in a particular place at a particular time in history. Once we’ve done this work, we have a sense of the message of our passage for THEM/THEN. This is very crucial because if we don’t understand the original intent of a passage, we have little hope of finding the the meaning of the passage for ourselves today (US/NOW).

That message for today is tightly linked to the MEANING part of the COMA process. The Meaning is the truth or truths expressed in a Scripture passage that are true for all people at all times and in all places. One way to think about this process is like an hour glass that starts broad/open and then narrows and then opens back up again. Something like this:

My Context and Observation is usually a bit chaotic. I’m looking at words and phrases. Looking up cultural allusions that I don’t understand. Looking up biblical allusions from other parts of the Bible and reading about them in their entirety. As I’m doing this, there are themes that are beginning to arise from the soup of my study. Eventually a moment of clarity happens quite naturally and is brought about by the Holy Spirit. Once you begin to see these truth themes, begin writing down some kind of outline in your own words. My outline for Colossians 3 was to Get set (3:1-4); Get dressed (3:5-17); Get going (3:18-25). The Get set is the setting of our minds on things above, namely Christ. The Get dressed is the putting off of the old life and the putting on of the new life in Christ. The Get going is the working out of these things on the ground of one’s life - family, work, friends, church.

Once you’ve got an outline or flow chart of the passage, you are ready to really hone in on Meaning. Here are a few questions that will help you get out some of those truths that are for all people at all times in all places:

Once you’ve reflected on these, you are ready to distill down the thrust of the passage. On the night that we reflected on Colossians 3 in our Wednesday Devo, my breakout group came up with some of the following “true truths” that we sought to apply to our lives:

1. Human beings (in their sinful state) are a real mess. They are in bondage to sin and experience that inwardly (evil desires, sinful passions . . . ) and outwardly (anger, malice, slander . . . )

2. God has given us hope in the gospel to put these things OFF and put a whole new set of virtues ON like compassion, humility, love . . .

3. God accomplishes this transformation through the heart-level RULE of Christ that is exercised in the Christian through the WORD of Christ that dwells in us through practices like study and singing in both solitude and in community.

Once you’ve narrowed down the Meaning, you are ready to open things back up in the Application part of the process which we’ll look at next week (5/27/20) See this LINK for details. Hope you will join us then!

COMA: Observation

This is the second installment in a four-part series diving deeper into a bible-reading tool with the acronym “COMA” standing for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application. Our live Zoom study has now concluded, but you can view the study materials and syllabus we used here.

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COMA: Observation

BY Lois Grandmaison

When you look up observation in the Oxford Dictionary it has a two part meaning. One that is an internal experience and the other that is an outward expression. Let’s take a quick look at the two definitions below:  

ob·ser·va·tion  /ˌäbzərˈvāSH(ə)n/

• the action or process of observing something or someone carefully in order to gain information or understanding.  

Synonyms: To consider, study, survey, view, watch, examine and monitor. 

• a remark, statement, or comment based on something one has seen, heard, or noticed. 

Synonyms: a statement, remark, pronouncement, declare. 

Looking through the lens of faith as a Christian this definition shows how God does an internal work in someone by giving them understanding of Christ and His Word through His Holy Spirit. This knowledge then leads to an outward expression of faith in how one speaks or lives because of the belief understood by observing the Word of God.  

The Presence of God:  An overarching theme of what observation leads to in understanding the things of God is not just knowledge and wisdom of what we see in the passage. The bible is the Living Word of God, because of that we also get God’s presence as we read and study His Word. Here are some verses from scripture that show how through His Word we get to encounter, dwell and be in the presence of the One True Living God:    

Hebrews 4:12-13

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Romans 10:17 

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Colossians 3:16 

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Psalm 119:18 

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

After we soak in the gift of observing God’s word and the council we get in His presence, there are some basic tools or questions we can ask of ourselves as we go deeper in scripture. Here are three key words to help you as you explore the Word: 

The Punch:

What jumps out at you or grabs your attention first? What are key details of the text? What is the definition of certain words to add to the punch? Is anything surprising in the passage? 

The Pattern:

Do you see a repetition of words? Is there a list of things or flow and what is the connection of their order? Are there connecting words or ideas like (therefore, for, but or because). You can do lots of circling, underlining, squiggles, triangles, notes, arrows in the text to help bring up to the top the main themes and repetition. 

The Purpose: 

Are there important people mentioned in the passage? Who and to what end? What is the main point or theme? Is something compared or contrasted to drive home the point? 

A Prayer For Us All: 

Father, just as we have received Christ Jesus, may we walk in Christ, rooted and built up in Him and established in the gospel faith, abounding in thanksgiving and observing your work in us by the power of the Holy Spirit and Christ’s cross. I pray we would dwell purposefully, look intently and observe deeply your ways, O Lord. May we then be people who proclaim, may we then be people who declare verbally the sweet internal observation of the gospel hope to our families, in our friendships, to our communities and to the world. I pray we would experience, by your Word and Holy Spirit, the treasures and wisdom and knowledge revealed in Christ that results in your steadfast presence and hope for our souls. In Jesus Name, Amen. 

An Update on Reopening

Is MERCYhouse MEETING this Sunday?

by Robert Krumrey

Most of you have probably heard that on 5/18/20 the governor of Massachusetts officially reopened our state according to “phase one” of their reopening protocol. This includes permission being given to churches to reopen their services at 40 percent of capacity while wearing masks, keeping socially distant, and not providing childcare. As of today (5/19/20), we are planning to continue hosting virtual services only and do not plan to meet in person for the remaining Sundays of the month of June 2020 (and possibly longer?). We’ve made this decision based on the following reasons:

• Difficulty keeping children socially distant in the service

• Severe limits placed on connecting (no hugs or social gatherings allowed before or after)

• Continuing threat of infection and desire to not be cause for community spread

As we get closer to the reopening, we will put a plan in place that will most likely look like the following:

• Phase one: Attendees can participate by reservations only for in-person worship to “try things out” in the sanctuary

• Phase two: Continued reservations for in-person worship plus some walk-ins

More Questions? Reach out to our church office at contact@mercyhouse365.org

How to HIT Hypocrisy

How do I take hypocrisy out of my life?

by Robert Krumrey

Hypocrisy is one of those things that most people absolutely abhor. Anytime a politician, preacher, police officer, anyone in authority, is exposed for doing something behind the scenes that is not consistent with what they are portraying on the scene, we all look on in disgust. The irony is that while we rant to our friends about how we “can’t believe” the latest scandal, we’re all struggling to get our inward life to be congruent with our outward life. I mentioned this last Sunday (watch/listen) that all of us are prone to hypocrisy and seem to soak it up as easily as a sourdough starter soaks up yeast from the air in our kitchen (See Luke 12:1). Knowing this, how can we take a swipe at this infectious spiritual disease? Here are four ways:

CONSUME (the word of God)

First and foremost we must regularly consume God’s word. If we don’t have the voice of God ringing in our ears, we will easily deceive ourselves about our own spiritual health. The book of James describes this particular way that God’s word works in facilitating our spiritual life:

“22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

— James 1:22-25

James tells us that the word of God is like a mirror. It reveals the flaws and blemishes in our lives that need to be confessed to God. James warns us that it is certainly possible to look at the word and not see ourselves as we really are which is another reminder of how difficult it can be to root out hypocrisy. James also says that you can look into this perfect word and find freedom through confession and repentance that is facilitated by the Spirit’s work through the word of God.

CONTEMPLATE (truth and the contents of your heart)

One of the ways to insure that we won’t merely look into the mirror of the word and not see anything that needs to be confessed is to contemplate. By contemplate, I mean to enter into times of silence before the Lord. This is best done after you have read scripture so that the Holy Spirit has something to work with in addressing the issues in our lives. Many of us are not comfortable with silence, but it is a very necessary part of being a fruitful follower of Jesus. As you sit in prayerful silence, don’t try to remove distractive thoughts, but instead prayerfully bring those thoughts to God. Things you are fearful or anxious about. Things you are excited about. Things that are merely on your to do list. All of these things are the contents on the inside of your cup (see Luke 11:39). The things that rise up that are sinful thoughts and attitudes need to be confessed. The things that are godly and good need to be celebrated. The things that are merely your daily activities need to be brought before God in prayer.

CONFESS (your sin)

Confession is where your inward condition and your external behavior start to become fully integrated. This isn’t telling God something that he doesn’t already know but instead is agreeing with God about what is true. This was talked about in the sermon as part of the prescription for the problem of hypocrisy - understanding that God created both the inside and outside of us and knows our every thought and action (see Luke 11:40 and 12:1-3). This truth should coax us out of our posing and into a posture of absolute honesty before him. God has been attempting to get sinful humans to do this since the fall of humanity in the garden of Eden:

“8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

— Genesis 3:8-13

God knows exactly what Adam and Eve have done, yet he asks them to confess their sin. It’s not to shame them or Lord his power over them but instead to begin shepherding them in the way of reintegration of inward condition with outward behavior. Humans were not created to live in this state of incongruence, but to be holy as God is holy which includes complete consistency inside and out. The proper route for sinners like us who long for this integration is to NOT do what we see Adam and Eve doing here but instead come out into the light of God’s holiness (and love) and confess our sin. This is spoken about throughout the Bible but probably no more clearly than this verse from 1John:

“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

— 1 John 1:9

COMMUNE (in a confessing community)

If you do the above three things, you will be well on your way to landing a solid punch in the face of hypocrisy, but it won’t be enough. It is part of God’s design that our pursuit of holiness and wholeness in him would not only be accomplished in solitude but also in community. As much as we love to take care of our sin in the privacy of our hearts, this very tendency reveals our hypocritical nature. We want to appear perfect to others while we work on our imperfections alone. The only way for a more wholistic transformation of our lives inside and out is to work it out in community. Again, James helps us here:

“16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

— James 5:16

James tells us that some sins will need to be confessed to trusted brothers and sisters in Christ and prayed over by that community. That if we are going to actually be transformed, we will have to make relationships in the church that are so intimate that we can pour the contents of our cup out to them which will include both the good and the bad. Some of you reading this have been struggling with certain sins for years and wondering why you haven’t been able to overcome them. The reason is often our unwillingness to confess those sins to others. In the name of hypocrisy, we insist on going this alone and God waits patiently as he calls us out of hiding and into the light.

Not only does our community offer a place to confess sin; it also serves as a place for confessing the gospel to each other on a regular basis. The constant reminder through word and sacrament that Jesus died to both forgive and transform hypocrites like us provides the necessary environment for bringing our sins into the light. One of the most natural places for this at MERCYhouse has been our Discipleship Groups (a.k.a. DG’s). Small groups of 3-4 people who learn good gospel truth while at the same time being transparent about what’s really going on on the inside. But don’t feel like you need to wait for an official group to do this. Even now, seek to connect with your brothers and sisters in Christ to confess sin and remind one another of gospel grace. So what are you waiting for, let’s bring the contents of our cups to God and others and punch hypocrisy in the mouth!

COMA: Context

This is the first installment in a four-part series diving deeper into a bible-reading tool with the acronym “COMA” standing for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application. Our live Zoom study has now concluded, but you can view the study materials and syllabus we used here.

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COMA: Context

By Austin Kopack

As Christians, the whole Bible, Old Testament and New, is our highest authority in all things related to our salvation in Christ. It is God-breathed in unified inspiration but written by many men in the midst of their own varied times and places. The Biblical canon is not a single book but a collection of ancient documents dating back 2000-3500 years. Our world is very different today than it was back then; it was even very different in the 1st century than it was in Moses’ day. As one saying goes, the Bible is written for us, but it was not written to us. So, as we study scripture, our first concern is to pay attention to the context of the passage we are reading so that we can best understand the intentions and ideas of the original author when they were written. 

Context is crucial because it is one of the major factors that keep us from simply reading ourselves into the text and making it mean whatever we want it to mean. 

“Even the person who claims to read old documents in a ’neutral’ way cannot think away his own present; he is wrong if he thinks he can. In that case he is simply not aware of his own hidden interests. Whether consciously or unconsciously, people look at heroical documents in the light of present day questions, suppositions and hypotheses. The critical problem is whether one simply looks to history to confirm one’s own already established views or whether one allows them to be put to the test by history.” (Edward Schillebeeckx, Ministry, 100)

Most of us have experienced someone taking things out of context. It is a common feature of our politicized news coverage and a frequent feature of our soundbite fueled social media debates. But it should not be hard to see why this is problematic. Here are a couple bizarre examples from the Bible:

• Hosea 1:2 -"Go marry a prostitute and have children with her.”

• Amos 4:4 -"Go to Bethel and sin” 

• Psalm 38:7 –“Lo, I have a painful disease in my loins”

• Malachi 2:3 "rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces”

• Exodus 1:16 "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

And, of course, as Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” 

Without context, these verses sound crazy, but we do this kind of thing in subtle ways all the time by assuming that the original authors are asking the same questions that we are asking and assuming that they have the same concerns that we do. This is not necessarily the case and it is studying the context which help us discern the kinds of questions and concerns the text was written to address.

Context Categories

I want to give you three basic categories for thinking about context as you read any passage of scripture (and really interpret anything in general). These categories are “historical,” “literary,” and “salvation.” By asking a few of these questions up front, it will help you situate the text and better inform the subsequent steps of the study process. 

1. Historical context

   1. To whom is this written? What was their situation? 

   2. Who is it written by? What might the author be concerned about?

2. Literary Context 

   1. What genre is this text (history, poetry, epistle)?  

   2. How does this conform to the genre? How does it differ?

   3. Where does this passage fit in the rest of the book? What comes before? What comes after? 

3. Salvation Context

   1. Where does this fit in the whole canon of scripture and the unfolding narrative of salvation? (e.g. before or after Israel’s exile? before or after Jesus?)

   2. Is this passage referenced elsewhere in scripture or does it reference other parts of scripture? 

   3. With what other theological themes or doctrines does this passage relate?

Some of these questions you will be able to answer simply from reading the text through in its entirety. Some of these will require a wider knowledge of scripture and access to commentaries. If you are able, begin your study of a particular passage of scripture by reading the book or letter in its entirety (and reading it through again when you are done with your study). 

Don’t worry if this seems challenging or overwhelming at first. Take it slow, give it time, and don’t be ashamed to ask lots of questions. The Bible is a revelation of God’s interaction with humanity; its depths are profound and complex because God is infinite and continues speaking to us today in our own contexts. Studying the Bible is a lifelong journey. Don’t expect to exhaust it before you die. 

Some online resources and tools to aid in your study of context: 

Biblegateway

Many of you will be familiar with Biblegateway. It has hundreds of versions in different languages, including many study bibles that include relevant background information. Check out the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. 

Blue Letter Bible

This is an excellent resource that offers interlinear with the Greek and Hebrew text. It shows where specific words appear elsewhere in scripture and offers links to many free commentaries online. 

Step Bible

The Step Bible is another great resource that provides a variety of customizable layers for studying scripture.

Wikipedia (With Discretion)

While it may sound too simple, there are Wikipedia pages on the recipient cities of Paul’s epistles that give some general historical background such as this one. This is true for many places mentioned in scripture. As with everything on the internet, some discernment is required and these kind of public sources will tends towards more liberal consensus in terms of historical dating and authorship. 

Satan, Sifting, and Subjectivity

Why does Satan exist and how do I discern his activity in my life?

by Robert Krumrey

There are a number of things about the Christian life that are a bit mysterious. The work of the Holy Spirit, prayer, even Christian conversion itself. The mysterious category also includes Satan - a powerful being that somehow fell from heaven along with some other powerful beings that are opposed to God and his people (see Revelation 12 and Luke 11:18). Most modern-day Christians are comfortable not thinking too much about Satan and his schemes. This is a problem since the New Testament takes all of this satanic stuff very seriously (see Ephesians 6:10-12).

Last Sunday (5/10/20) I preached on the topic of Satan from Luke 11:14-23 (video / audio). In this text we are reminded that Satan is strong and should be taken seriously, but that in Christ’s strength, we are stronger and have been given authority over him. I also talked a bit about how a disciple of Jesus actually does this so if you haven’t listened to the sermon, take some time to watch/listen to it this week. In the rest of this blogpost, I want to address some of the questions that came up after the sermon.

Why is Satan allowed to have influence in the life of a Christian in the first place? Sifting.

One of the questions that comes up regarding Satan is why he’s allowed to have influence in the lives of Christians in the first place. I must admit this is not something that can easily be answered to most people’s satisfaction. From a 30,000 foot view, we can lump Satan in with everything else that is evil on this earth - that God is somehow working out purposes that are glorifying to him and good for his children. Martin Luther famously said that, “Even the Devil is God’s Devil.” Nothing that exists is outside the sovereign control of God.

There are also some passages that give us some clues as to what God may be up to in allowing Christians to be attacked by Satan. Jesus gives us a hint in his comments about Peter’s future denials when he says this:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

— Luke 22:31,32

Jesus here gives us a window into the inner workings of the spiritual world. In this brief comment to Peter, we are told that Satan is working against Christians (like Peter), that Jesus is using power (through prayer) to overcome Satan, and lastly that somehow Satan is being used for a good purpose in Peter’s life. Jesus’ use of the word “sift” is very telling. When you sift wheat, you purify it from the chaff or stems before you grind it into flour. Jesus is showing that Satan’s attack, while certainly coming from an evil motive, will ultimately be turned into a means to accomplish the purposes of God in Peter’s life and the lives of the other disciples. This satanic attack will result in a stronger Peter who will then turn and strengthen the other disciples. Why is Satan allowed to attack Christians? In a word, Sifting.

One of the ways God has used satanic attacks to sift me has been to increase my prayer life. As much as I wish the opportunity to spend time with God my Father was motivator enough, I have periodically found myself in times of prayerlessness. One of the ways that God awakens me out of this spiritual stupor is to pull the lid off of the spiritual forces of evil. These attacks have manifested themselves through things like my own intense negative thoughts or the thoughts of those close to me, an overwhelming sense of despair, and evil people who were attacking my reputation or the reputation of the church. Each time these kinds of things rear their heads and we discern that they are from the evil one, our prayer lives increase exponentially. In the midst of this heightened prayer, I find myself not only concerned with the attacks at hand, but also enjoying being in the presence of my God who loves me. The result has often been a matured prayer life that continues even after the spiritual attack is over.

How do we differentiate between physical and spiritual causes for things like night terrors? Discernment

While there are hard and fast truths that we can apply to our fight against Satan, we can’t get away from the fact that there is a tremendous amount of subjectivity involved in this part of the Christian life. Most Christians lean too far one way or the other. Either we put way too much stock in what we feel when it comes to spiritual realities or we give no room at all for the subjective side of our discipleship. Honestly, I would say I’ve been in both camps and am now only beginning to get a handle on what seems like a healthy balance.

So how does one subjectively discern what is going on in a situation like a kid having a night terror or an overwhelming sense of despair that seems to come out of nowhere. The Bible teaches that some of us are going to be better at this than others. The Apostle Paul even points out that some Christians have a gifting in the area of discernment of spirits (see 1 Corinthians 12:10). We don’t talk about this gift very much at MH, but there is certainly a need for brothers and sisters in Christ who have an intuitive sense of what is going on in the spiritual realm. This seems to be both a gifting, but also something that comes with experience.

The Bible also teaches that all Christians are given some level of discernment in these areas. For example:

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:14-16

This means that every Christian has (or could have) the ability to discern what is going on in the spiritual realm because they have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. I’d say that not only includes things like understanding the Bible and what to pray but also what is going on in the area of spiritual warfare. This means that if you are a Christian, you have the raw material for discerning what is going on in the spiritual realm. It also means that if we are struggling to discern something that we can ask for the ability to do so. The Apostle Paul himself asks this from God for the Philippians:

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,”

— Philippians 1:9

According to this scripture, you can pray for discernment that you may currently be lacking. This means, for example, that if you have a kid who is experiencing night terrors, that you should pray for understanding from God that will help you discern what might be going on. It also means that you pray with your child in light of these truths. We are convinced that our children experienced terrors caused by the enemy at different times in their lives. This seemed to be a way to affect us indirectly through our children who were more vulnerable to attack. The result was an increased prayer life and some very powerful conversations with our kids about the realities of the evil one and our ability to take authority over him when he attacks. It was a sifting for sure and a part of the discipleship of our children.

I think you’re seeing Jesus exercise this kind of discernment when Peter rebukes him in Matthew 16. Jesus says this famous statement to the Apostle:

“But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””

— Matthew 16:23

This statement seems to come from out of nowhere. Peter and Jesus are having a conversation between the two of them and all of the sudden Jesus confronts the invisible presence in the room and speaks to him directly. Jesus realizes that in this moment Satan is attempting to derail his cross-centered mission to save the world and that he is using his closest human companion to do so. Jesus uses his powers of discernment, rebukes Satan and continues to move forward on his mission to save humanity.

This mission that was fulfilled at the cross is what makes any of this possible. Jesus shows his absolute power over Satan by dying on the cross, rising from the dead, and ascending to the right hand of the Father. Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 28 that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (see Matthew 28:18). When he says that he means that he exercises absolute authority in both the unseen and the seen. Jesus has taken absolute authority over all things and he is exercising that authority through his followers. Take seriously the instructions given to us in the New Testament and continue to move in this almighty power and authority given to us by Savior King Jesus!

From Couch to Pray: 4 Step Process

four steps to the praying life

by Robert Krumrey

You are probably familiar with the concept of going “from couch to 5K”. It’s a 9 week training plan that’s supposed to help you go from 24/7 naps and screen time on the couch to actually running 3.1 miles in the real world. The secret to this program is lots of incremental steps - couch to refrigerator, couch to mailbox, couch to end of the street . . . You get the picture. While some of us may need a training program to get us off the couch and running, most of us need even more a program to get us off the couch and praying. Or at least praying while sitting on the couch! Here are four simple steps for doing just that:

#1 Learn From the Master

Last Sunday (5/3/20) I preached on Luke 11:1-13 which is one of Jesus’ most important teachings on prayer. If you haven’t listened to or watched this sermon, I would encourage you to do so. Before we start praying, we should know a little bit about how to do it. Just like when you start to run, you ought to do a little research on how to run in a way that is actually going to contribute to your health - what shoes should I wear? how should I stretch? and what’s a warm down? The best place to go for learning how to pray is the teachings of Jesus. He had a perfect prayer life and anything he says about prayer should be adopted by us 100 percent. I shared in the sermon that the Lord’s Prayer or model prayer that we find in both Luke 11 and Matthew 6 is a great place to start. This prayer gives you some structure for making sure your prayer time is filled with not only requests for yourself but also an acknowledgement of God and requests for one’s relationship to others and the world. See this video of Pastor John Piper modeling with this might look like.

#2 Confess the Sin Under the Sin

One of the biggest breakthroughs for me in the area of prayer was realizing that prayerlessness is a sin. Praying (for the Christian) is not an option. It’s a command in Scripture. It’s all over the New Testament: “Devote yourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2); “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Ephesians 6:18); “When you pray” (Matthew 6:5); to name just a few. We cannot get around the fact that praying is a command from God and if it is a command, then not doing it is a sin. All sins, including the sin of prayerlessness, should be confessed and repented from.

An even bigger breakthrough for me was realizing what Pastor Tim Keller often calls the “sin under the sin”. The commands we break certainly count as sin, but there is often something lying under the surface which is much more insidious. In the case of prayerlessness, one of the sins under that sin is self-sufficiency. A lack of prayer in one’s life is a symptom of a heart that is not aware of its need for God. This includes not only the resources we need (temporal and spiritual), but for God in general. By not praying, we are saying that we don’t need or want God.

“Now wait a minute, that’s not what I am saying! I’m busy. I’m tired. I’m . . . “ It’s so easy to make excuses for why we don’t get around to praying, but if we are honest we have to admit that we don’t understand our need for God. He is our greatest need. The thing we need more of than anything else in the world is God. When we exhibit a prayerless life, we know that our heart isn’t aware of our need for him. The proper response to this is to confess our sin. We should throw away our excuses and justifications and be honest about our spiritual state. Confess it and ask God for the grace of forgiveness AND the grace of transformation that will stir our hearts to want to pray to him more.

#3 Remove Obstacles

Once you’ve gotten some basic training on prayer and taken some time to confess the sin of prayerlessness and the sins under that sin, it’s time to take some action. You may have thought that the action to take was to start praying. By all means, don’t let me stop you from praying during this entire process. What you may find is that even though you’ve learned some prayer basics and confessed sin, that you are still struggling to embrace a consistent and meaningful prayer life. One of the reasons for this may be some other habits or circumstances that are getting in the way.

For example, if you plan to get up in the morning and pray, but you tend to stay up too late and not get enough sleep at night you don’t end up praying. Or you decide to put some time aside in the evening for prayer but keep getting sucked into social media on your phone. Or you get the sleep you need, you turn off the phone, but your roommate or family is making so much noise that you can’t really concentrate. These, and many other kinds of obstacles, can really discourage your journey from spiritual couch potato to prayer warrior. It will be very helpful to take some time and think through what undermines your efforts to engage in prayer and come up with ways to overcome these obstacles.

#4 Just Do It

Eventually you need to pray. A great way to start is to pray about praying. I was first introduced to this idea when I read Richard Foster’s chapter on prayer in his book Celebration of Discipline. One of the most helpful things I gleaned from that book was to approach spiritual disciplines with an attitude of absolute dependence on God. In all my other experiences with “discipline” there was a lot of teeth gritting and willing of myself to start a new habit. Foster does a masterful job (especially in the introduction of the book) of explaining how one can approach any spiritual discipline by relying on God’s grace through faith. This understanding of doing something is how Christians should always take any type of outward action - in humble dependence on God which is the very essence of prayer.

So let’s do it! If you have not yet embraced a meaningful and consistent prayer life, learn from the Master, confess the sin of and the sins under prayerlessness, remove all obstacles, and then pray. Then keep learning to pray, confessing sin, removing obstacles, and praying. Through these disciplines, I pray that God will develop in me, in you, and in our congregation a deep, meaningful, life-changing, congregation-changing, world-changing experience of this amazing gift of prayer.

Rejoice

Not Evangelizing is a fruit of Not Rejoicing.

By Tommy Moore

This past week I (Tommy Moore) preached a sermon from Luke 10:1-24 which looked at the mission of discipleship multiplication in some of the earliest followers of Jesus (watch the whole service or listen to the sermon podcast).

The passage chronicles one of the first “mission trips” that ever occurred as Jesus sends out 72 people who have made the decision to follow Him on a mission to reach other people with the Gospel. This Scripture is a fantastic guidebook for what it looks like practically to evangelize (share the Gospel with) people.

As a very brief four-point recap of the sermon, here are the key aspects I think we see in this passage regarding reaching people with the Gospel:

1. We reach others with the Gospel by praying and going. 

Luke 10:2–3

2. We reach others with the Gospel with meekness and reliance on God

Luke 10:3–4

3. We reach others with the Gospel by... preaching the Gospel.

Luke 10:9

4. As we reach others with the Gospel… we must rejoice.

Luke 10:17–20

It’s all fairly straightforward. We see in the passage that as the disciples follow this guide during their reaching of people with the Gospel, they have an incredible experience that fuels their faith and encourages them onward in their following of Jesus.

As we read this today, it’s a natural point of application to consider our own efforts at evangelism. But what if that self reflection is mostly disappointing and discouraging? What if what comes to mind are our failed attempts at evangelism or our realization that sharing our faith and the Gospel really isn’t a priority?

Rejoicing is Critical

The point from this sermon that impacted me the most was the fourth one: As we reach others with the Gospel… we must rejoice. We see this in verses 17-20 when the disciples return all jazzed up from being on mission for Jesus. They’ve experienced true reliance on God, experienced his protection and provision, saw God do some miraculous things through them— they had a lot of reasons to ride a “spiritual high.” But Jesus quickly redirects them to the source of ultimate joy:

Luke 10:20 [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (ESV)

In other words, “Don’t ride the joy of the fruit you’re seeing, but rather meditate on and make a home in the joy of your very own salvation.” Why? I mentioned in my sermon that the joy of our salvation is the greatest joy of our lives… there’s nothing else that really can compare to such a monumental experience, and nothing with further reaching implications. But how often do we take time to reflect on our own testimony of salvation? How often do we marvel at how God has opened our eyes and softened our hearts to see and respond to the Gospel message? How often do we just sit in contentedness with our eternal destiny sealed in Heaven as a result of the miraculous work of divine salvation in our lives? If you’re like me… the answer is, “not very often.”

But that’s Jesus’ exhortation in this context of the debriefing of their mission of reaching people with the Gospel. Why? Because rejoicing is critical, and in a world where circumstantial happiness can switch into catastrophic regret in the blink of an eye, there is nothing more firm to rejoice in than the never-changing, once-and-for-all rescuing of our souls by Jesus.

But I don’t feel the joy…

While we read Jesus’ exhortation to rejoice (the active verb form of joy, “to find great joy in”), it’s perfectly fair to respond with the realization that we don’t feel that joy. That’s one of the tricky things about Joy… it’s something we actively do but it also can’t be manufactured. It seems like a cruel paradox.

There are plenty of resources written on the pursuit of biblical joy, but the one place where it comes vividly to mind for me is in Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 5:22–23 [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV, emphasized)

Joy here is used in a different context— not as something you do, but something that is produced inside of you. Joy is a supernatural fruit that sprouts from God through His Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us as His followers.

How do these two concepts of Joy co-exist? How does one “do” joy while it’s something that’s produced inside of us? We do this by understanding that true Joy is a product of the Holy Spirit inside of us (passive), and rejoicing is our conscious and intentional decision to meditate on and ponder the source of our ultimate Joy (active). It is like receiving a gift (passive), and pursuing the gift (active).

The other truth we can extrapolate here is that Joy can be prayed for. Just as we pray for love to show compassion to our neighbors, patience to bear with our children, faithfulness to continue following Jesus on a daily basis, self-control to resist temptation… we can pray that the Joy of God would be blossomed inside of us.

Joy doesn’t terminate on us

There are obvious blessings when we’re able to experience and meditate on the Joy that God gives us. But it doesn’t end there! And I think that’s why it’s a critical step for the 72 as they return from their sharing of the Gospel. The joy that they experience in their own salvation motivates and compels them to share the joy they’ve experienced when being made alive in Christ with others who are dead in their sin.

It’s like delighting in a delicious bite of food and feeling compelled to exclaim, “you’ve got to try this!” Or watching an incredible film and texting your friends to say, “you’ve got to see this!” When we experience the joy of God, personally epitomized in the salvation of our souls, we are compelled to reach out to those around us to say, “you’ve got to hear this good news!”

Questions? Contact us at info@mercyhouse365.org.

Make sure you check out our live stream Sunday mornings at 10:00am here!

Deny Self / Find Self

Can self-denial become destructive?

by Robert Krumrey

On Sunday a question came in after the sermon (audio, video) that we didn’t have a chance to answer but is a really helpful question to further put Jesus’ command to “deny self” into perspective. Here’s the question:

“Is it possible for the denial of oneself to become sinful, a source of pride like viewing oneself as a martyr?”

Being fallen humans we can turn anything into an occasion to sin, including “denying ourselves”. Any CrossFit enthusiast or diet guru will talk a talk of self-denial. This, in and of itself, can become something that we worship and glorify as our ultimate salvation. We can find ourselves boasting in our willingness to endure pain for this thing that we treasure. We post on social media about how hard we are working to deprive ourselves of what we may want in the short term in order to gain whatever the thing is that we treasure above giving into lesser desires.

This can also be done with Christianity. We can make Christianity into an occasion to sin. We can talk a talk of self-denial. We can boast of our willingness to endure pain for Christ in comparison to those who don’t deny self as much as we do. This is how Jesus describes much of the religion of his day in places like Matthew 23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”

— Matthew 23:23,24

In the entirety of chapter 23 of Matthew, Jesus is giving a scathing rebuke of the religious types of his era. Describing their religious practices (like carefully sorting their spice garden to insure proper tithing) as hollow and lifeless and pointing out the absence of true transformation (like living lives of justice and mercy). Jesus is not saying that they shouldn’t have tithed (“These you ought to have done”) but he is showing them that sacrificial religious activity is NOT the end goal when it comes to denying oneself. There is something more.

MORE than mere self-denial

What is this more that Jesus is driving at? The more is an actual living relationship with God. This is what keeps self-denial in it’s proper context. You deny yourself not for the sake of denying your self, but instead, for the sake of Christ who is your king. This self-denying is done in the context of relationship with Jesus through his word by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The big difference between the self-denial of the CrossFitter and the self-denial of the CrossLifter is that the one who picks up the disciple’s cross is doing so in response to the saving work of Jesus and in obedience to his glorious and good rule as King of the universe. Again, take a look at Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

— Luke 9:23

Jesus describes the disciple as one who comes “after me”. The denial is personal and is done unto Christ. Because this is personal, and Jesus is not only King but also Savior, we can know that his initiation with us will always be for our good. This is what he’s getting at when he speaks of his “yoke” in Matthew chapter 11:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

— Matthew 11:29.30

This taking on of a yoke that Jesus mentions here is symbolic language for taking on his rule as your King. The assurance he gives here is that it will be “easy” and “light”. By saying this, he’s not saying that he isn’t going to give you a heavy load to carry. What he is saying is that he will be carrying the the weight. Yokes are used to combine the strength of 2 animals like a team of oxen. In this scenario, we are yoking ourselves up with Jesus which will now be determining the direction of our lives. Because Jesus is all good and all wise, that direction will be a life-giving direction. Not only that, but Jesus, being all powerful, will be filling us with his strength to fulfill the direction that he has chosen for us.

Deny Self / Find Self

In the end, this is where we find our “true self”. There’s a lot of talk in our culture about “being yourself” or being “true to yourself”. What’s usually meant by that is being independent of everyone and everything so that we can emerge as we were truly meant to be. There are many problems with this including the delusion that we are somehow independent from the shaping influences of the context in which we live. It’s also a very modern concept to believe that my identity is crafted solely by me and me alone.

In the face of a lot of modern ideas, we find in Scripture that one’s true identity is found in rightly relating to our creator God. This is where the self language may be a bit hard to understand. We are “denying self” unto Jesus in order to “find ourself” as we were truly meant to be. Jesus also seems to be using this kind of language. Again, look at what he says in Luke 9:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”

— Luke 9:24,25

Jesus uses this language of losing the self (unto him) which results in saving the self. He’s showing us that the denying of self that we do is actually a denial of a false, sinful self that was never what we were intended to be in the first place. Not only that, when we “lose ourselves” for Christ’s sake we actually become the true self that we were made to be all along. This is at the heart of genuine Christian transformation - the death to life story that results in us becoming truly who we were made to be!

Life in the In-Between

How do I cope with life in the in-between?

by Robert Krumrey

What’s it like to live in the “in-between”? All of us are experiencing this currently. We are somewhere between what was normal life and what will be our post-quarantine life to come. It’s a strange place to linger. It’s hard to get motivated. Hard to believe that what we are doing here and now really matters. The temptation to do nothing and wait until whatever is coming get’s here is really strong. THEN we’ll be able to get serious about life in “the daily”.

There’s another part of us that says that this is NOT the way to spend this time. That we should make the most of this pandemic purgatory. We should play, rest, do push-ups, learn to cross stitch, read Moby Dick. There’s got to be a way to make use of this unspecified time we’ve been given! So we start (and stop) a variety of activities spending more time posting about it than actually fulfilling our noble objectives.

And yet, here we are. Another Monday morning that starts another week of quarantine. I’m not trying to depress you, but I am trying to get you to think about life in the in-between. As Christians we know we are between the life we once knew (life before Jesus) and a life to come. The life to come is going to be amazing. So amazing that it can officially be called perfect. Perfect relationships with God, ourselves, others, and the earth. We long for that day but we do not live in that world. At least not yet. We are in the in-between.

The problem with this cosmic in-between is that while we are saved from the penalty of sin, we are still influenced by it. We are in a constant battle within ourselves over whether or not we are going to “make the best use of our time” or merely keep ourselves amused with whatever seems entertaining at the moment. We tend toward boredom, laziness, even addiction. Life in the in-between time is not neutral It’s a battle. This quarantine seems to have brought this reality to the forefront now more than ever.

So how do we fight this battle?

Recognizing the Need for a Rescue

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 6:1-7:23, does a masterful job of describing the challenges we face living in the in-between. After acknowledging these realities, he directs us to this truth regarding how we should initially approach our predicament:

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

— Romans 7:24,25

Life in the in-between can reveal a lot about a person. I mean, just look at what you are wearing for the fifth day in a row! These struggles within and without are reminders that we can’t think enough positive thoughts and do enough good deeds to save ourselves. We need someone who exists outside the in-between to come down and save us. This is what we just celebrated on Easter Sunday (audio, video). Jesus comes from heaven and drops down into our very messed up world. Just this truth alone would have been pretty amazing, but there’s more to it than that. He came for the central purpose of staging a rescue for those who are willing to admit their need for help. Paul makes this desperate declaration of both his need (“wretched man that I am”) and then his thanksgiving (“Thanks be to God!”) for God’s divine plan for rescue through Jesus. The first thing we need to understand about life in the in-between is that we need a rescue from Jesus. Then and only then can we begin to understand how to thrive in the here and the hereafter.

Battle in the In-Between

Even as Paul heralds the good news of God’s plan for rescue through Jesus, he immediately hints at the battle that will continue to be waged in the lives of those who have experienced saving from “this body of death”. Paul is clear that there will be an ongoing battle in the mind of the Christ follower which will play itself out in the daily. Later in Romans chapter 8, he goes more deeply into what that is to look like:

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

— Romans 8:5,6

Paul describes a very vigorous war to be waged in the thought life of the believer. This battle is not to be waged in order to obtain the gift of the rescue itself, but instead, is something that is an ongoing reality in the lives of those who have been rescued. Those who have been rescued by Jesus are permanently filled with the Holy Spirit and are now living out their daily existence in the in-between by willfully “setting their minds” on the things of the Spirit. These “things of the Spirit” are the gospel. The swinging back to the knowledge of what Christ did for us in his death, burial, and resurrection and the swinging forward to what life will be like in Christ in the new heavens and the new earth. The proof of our past salvation from sin and our guaranteed citizenship in the perfect world to come are both attested to by the resurrection. Paul also points to this in Romans 8 when he writes:

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

— Romans 8:11

The Spirit’s work in you today is a result of Christ saving you from sin AND a taste of your eternal life to come. That Spirit that empowers you today while you sit in your basement making zoom calls is also going to raise you from the dead and give you a new life, an eternal new life. All of this is accomplished through the rescue that Jesus has executed through his death, burial, and resurrection. So this week keep up the fight! Not just the fight to keep fit and productive and not yell at your kids, but the fight to set your mind on what Jesus has done for you at the cross and will do for you when we get past living in the in-between!

The Storm-Proofed Life

How can I storm-proof my life?

by Robert Krumrey

Most of us are feeling the ground beneath us give way. Things that once seemed so certain are now letting us down. A stable economy. Freedom to come and go as we please. Most unsettling, the health and well-being of ourselves and those we love. In the past, these things served as a source of peace, hope, and joy, but now nothing seems certain.

If we are honest, we know we shouldn’t have been putting so much trust in those things in the first place. We only have to look a country or two over to see unrest and upheaval even before the days of the Covid virus. As westerners, we have a tendency to look smugly at our neighbors wondering why they can’t get their act together. Truth is, when any country is thriving, it is a fragile state of affairs. The slightest shift can send us grabbing for the walls, wondering if the floor is going to drop out from under us.

So where does that leave us? Are we doomed to a life of absolute uncertainty, or is it possible to storm-proof our lives? Jesus gives us a vision of a life built on solid ground! You heard this hope-filled declaration in last Sunday’s sermon from Austin Kopack. Jesus says it is possible to build your life on an unshakable foundation. Here are his words from the gospel of Luke:

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.”

— Luke 6:47,48

In this teaching, Jesus says life is like home building. When you build a house, you start with the foundation. It’s not the only thing about that house that is seen or is important, but it is the first thing that must be built and it is the MOST important. Without a good foundation, the rest of the house will fall in on itself, especially if there are harsh weather conditions like wind or rain or floods. One interesting thing about the building of a home in ancient Palestine is that you didn’t “build” a foundation. You couldn’t pour a concrete slab for instance. Instead you had to find a foundation that was already there and build on it. The best foundation to build on was one of rock. This sometimes required that you “dig deep” through the soft sand or clay to get to the bedrock which would make a suitable foundation.

This digging deep was not easy so sometimes people didn’t do it. I must admit that I would probably be this kind of home builder. I am forever trying to make my home improvement projects faster and cheaper. The result is usually the same. The project isn’t done right and it either doesn’t work correctly or completely breaks and needs the same fix it needed when I started. I can also tend to live my life this way. Go the path of least resistance. Choose the quickest and easiest way to live so I can move on to something more fun than digging through rocks and clay to get to something solid.

Problem with this kind of living is that when storms hit, your life isn’t ready and the whole structure that you’ve built comes crashing down. Jesus gives us some valuable insight when it comes to how to storm-proof your life so this doesn’t happen. He says that we are to do so by hearing AND doing his words. Jesus is being very clear. His expectation of his followers is that they would both know his words and once they know them they will put them into practice. He sees those who hear his words and even profess them religiously but don’t do them as not even getting close to the storm-proofed life. Hear his introductory question to this teaching:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

— Luke 6:46

Jesus is clear with his disciples that hearing his word, even saying it, but not doing it is not acceptable. His expectation is that we would hear and do his word. This is sometimes difficult to figure out. Are we hearing and doing OR merely hearing and professing? One of the ways we can know is when our faith is tested by a storm (also see James 1:2-4). When the wind begins to howl and the floods start to rise, do we have stability in spite of the raging storm? If we feel our foundation giving way, it’s time to get a new foundation or at the very least stop attempting to balance our weight between Jesus and other things.

One of the blessings of a time like this is that we can give up leaning on lesser foundations and put the full weight of our lives on Jesus. As we feel the stress rise and the fears overwhelm us, we can ask God to forgive us for saying Jesus is our foundation but really believing in our heart that cash is our rock or family is our rock or health is our rock. We can ask God to produce in us belief from our hearts that Jesus is our ultimate hope. His is the only foundation that can stand the weight of this life . . . and even the life to come.

One of the images used in the Old Testament to communicate God’s wrath was the storm. Jeremiah the prophet uses this powerful word picture:

“Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.”

— Jeremiah 23:19

Storms in the ancient world were scary. Partly because they are powerful (still are!) and partly because people didn’t know what to make of them scientifically. They represented uncertainty and danger even a potential cause of death. The ultimate storm we could ever face is the wrath we deserve for our sin. No amount of digging or building or shoring up could ever save us from this, the deadliest of pandemics. One that has a 100 percent eternal death rate.

This is also what Jesus is teaching here in his parable of the foundations. The storm that is coming, the righteous judgment of God against human sin, is something that can only be weathered because Jesus himself has taken that wrath upon himself. He has allowed himself to be washed away by the flood of judgment we deserved resulting in us being forgiven and given a new life. This life is safe on the rock of our salvation. Rejoice today that this ultimate of storms has been averted, and let this solidify your daily faith in this One who has provided for your life now and forever.

How to Rejoice in Times of Suffering

Rejoice in Suffering

by Robert Krumrey

Experiencing joy while suffering is something that most Christians believe is a biblical concept. They can remember a verse or two back in the recesses of their brain that seem to claim this. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,” from James 1:2 is an all time favorite on this topic. This sounds good, but how can this actually be experienced in the life of the Christian?

WHAT IT’S NOT

One thing to consider is what these kinds of verses are NOT saying. They are not saying to pretend that you are not suffering. Enough of the prosperity gospel has leaked into today’s church, that many of us think that joy in suffering is merely some version of the power of positive thinking. This way of handling suffering is more akin to someone practicing New Age spirituality. We think God is organizing his activity around our positive thoughts. As long as we ignore our pain and fear, we can wish the bad things away in Jesus’ name. This couldn’t be further from Christian truth. The Bible is filled with what is often called “lament” - bringing one’s emotions to God no matter what they may be. There is lots of this in the Psalms. Agonizing prayers being lifted up to God like:

“Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.”

and “Be not far from me for trouble is near, and there is none to help.”

and “my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.”

So much for stuffing my “negative” emotions and thinking only positive thoughts!

WHAT IT IS

There are a number of truths in scripture that help us understand how God gives us joy in suffering. One is that suffering in and of itself is something that God uses to accomplish his purposes. This must be true if we believe that God, who is all powerful and good and wise, is allowing suffering into our lives. There are many places in scripture where this is explored. One of the most helpful is a passage in Romans chapter five:

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

— Romans 5:3-5

Paul writes to the church at Rome that we “rejoice in our sufferings” because these sufferings activate a process. A process that starts with an experience he labels (and the ESV translates) as “endurance”. Most of us think of a very stagnant experience when we hear the word endurance. We are told just to “endure” something until it passes. This is not the way that Paul is exhorting the Christian to deal with suffering. The greek word being translated here is “hupomone”. The word communicates an active bearing up under the weight of suffering that looks more like a weight lifter pushing against the force of the weights on a squat bar.

This is something that can only be done in the strength that is provided by God through his Spirit. Again, we don’t want to slip into believing that positive thinking and the determination of one’s will cures all. We are able to hupomone in the midst of suffering because God gives us grace to do this. We lament and pray and get others to pray and encourage us in this faith filled struggle. When we do this, according to Romans 5, something happens. We experience character formation.

We know some version of this happens even when not taking the spiritual dimension into account. Every post Super Bowl speech by the Patriots has gone something like this - “We had a tough season but we pulled together and persevered as a team. We got better through all that hardship and tonight we got to see the fruit of what’s been happening in our team over this entire season”. Or something like that. Adversity can produce results even apart from some kind of vertical dimension. The problem with this kind of perseverance, is that it’s done without being aware of the aid that God provides and can result in something other than an improved character. Namely human pride.

When endurance is accomplished by grace through faith, it produces Christlike character in us. It softens our rough edges, deepens our capacity to love others, and stirs our appreciation for the goodness of God and his gospel. This is the kind of person we say we want to be, but haven’t been able to arrive at through singing praise songs and giving right answers in Bible study. Often times it takes an experience of suffering to see ourselves truly changed from the inside out.

This leads to HOPE! Paul ends his logical progression of what can happen in times of suffering with hope. Hope is assurance in the certainty of who God is and what he can and will do. Those who have walked through suffering and seen it further conform them to the image of Christ, walk away with a reservoir of hope that they can draw from for future suffering. A big part of that hope is a pouring out of God’s love into the heart or inner most being of the sufferer through the work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Paul lets us know that as we lament and pray and seek encouragement in times of suffering, God shows up and does so in a way that is so intimate that it’s experienced as a filling up of God’s love. This is more than a "what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” kind of character building. This is an experience of God that changes us forever.

You may be thinking, “That all sounds great, but I’m just not ‘feeling it’! No subjective experience of love being felt here in the midst of suffering.” If that’s the case, don’t give up. Keep lamenting. Keep praying. Keep going to God’s word for encouragement. Also keep looking at the gospel. A few verses later in Romans chapter 5 we see this verse:

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

— Romans 5:8

Whether we are feeling the pouring out of God’s love in our hearts or not, we can know for sure that God loves us because of what he demonstrated for us at the cross. You may not have realized it, but the examples of lament from the Psalms in the beginning of this article are all from one Psalm. Psalm 22. It begins with the words “ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You may recognize that phrase as being in the mouth of Jesus on the cross. Read the rest of it and be amazed at all of the parallels there are in that Psalm to the events of the crucifixion. As Jesus is quoting this Psalm, he is probably not just thinking of the first line but the entire Psalm which is one of the Psalms of lament. It’s one more reminder of what Jesus did for us through his suffering and death on the cross. He took on all the shame and guilt and despair of sin and all of its effects. All those things that elicit suffering in our lives and lament in our heart. Because of Jesus’ suffering, he has opened a door for all of us to suffer while still maintaining hope. A hope that is in the now. A hope that is in the not yet. A hope that is cause for great joy!

Picture by Victor Freitas

From Crisis to Calm

From Crisis

to Calm

by Robert Krumrey

For updates and official responses, please visit our dedicated page: mercyhouse365.org/covid-19

As most of you are aware, all five of our college campuses are shutting down and doing classes online for the next few weeks or even until the end of the semester. This is an unprecedented moment in the history of our region and of our church. I wanted to reach out and say that we are here to help! Both with the truth of God’s word and with assistance as needed. That means that students who are reading this, please reach out to us at contact@mercyhouse365.org and let us know if there is anything we can do (rides, temporary shelter, assistance with travel, etc.). This also means that church members who have homes or apartments and cars who would be willing to assist, please fill out this FORM so we know what we can offer.

In addition to physical assistance, we also want to remind everyone of the truth about God and his control over what feels like chaos. He is never asleep at the wheel of history and is always at work in the midst of every situation. Jesus describes God’s care over the earth and its people in the following way:

“25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

— Matthew 6:25-34

Providence

Notice that Jesus’ argument for God’s care for his children is from a “lessor to a greater” argument. He uses this argument quite a lot. He asks us to consider how God sustains all the details of the creation. He’s implying that the way that birds stay fed and flowers grow is through the providential care of God. Not only do they survive in a utilitarian sort of way, but they are also beautiful. This implies a power that is beyond that of an engineer but also an artist. He then turns the spotlight from flowers and birds to us! He asks us the question, that if God exercises so much care in stewarding birds and flowers, how much more care will he exercise in his care for human beings who were created to bear his image.

Perishable

Jesus also makes a lessor to greater argument regarding the perishable nature of grass. This thing that God is so intimately involved in is here today and gone tomorrow. As we compare how quickly grass perishes with the typical life span of a human being, again we are reminded of their value and how much God must care for them. This comment about humans being less perishable than grass is then offset with Jesus’ comment about our human frailty. He reminds us that a human cannot “add a single hour to his (or her) span of life”. This again is a reminder that God is superintending everything in our universe, including the life span of every human being. In a sense, this makes us invincible until God says otherwise. All of us have been living and breathing this week because God has been sustaining us by grace. He will continue to do that through a Corona Virus pandemic if he so chooses. Whether we perish or not is ultimately in the hands of God regardless of circumstances around us.

Personal

One of the things that is so prevalent throughout this text is how personal God is. Even in the fact that Jesus is addressing worry and anxiety. He has compassion on us and understands what it’s like to be a human in this fallen world. As Hebrews says, he “sympathizes with our weaknesses”. He doesn’t just tell us to keep a stiff upper lip and soldier on or shame us for being big babies with bad theology. He comforts us with the truths that God is near, that he is involved, and that we can lean on him for practical assistance. If you find yourself “freaking out” today, reach out to your Father in heaven and ask for help. He is listening and he cares about the details of your health, your family’s health, your travel arrangements, everything!

Purposeful

Jesus sums this section up with a well known verse that might be a bit of a surprise. He finishes up all this talk about daily needs with a charge to seek first the Kingdom of God. It is here that we see that not only is Jesus concerned about our worry and anxiety, but he’s concerned about worry and anxiety sabotaging the way we function as citizens in his kingdom. When we get our thinking corrected about who God is and his concern for us, we can now start to crawl out of our hole of anxiety and look for God’s greater purposes. Make no mistake, God is in control of Corona and he is at work in the world. He is at work on our five campuses. He is at work in our communities. He is at work in our church. As you lean on God for comfort and strength, your next move is to report for duty in the army of your king. His gospel is never more potent than in times of suffering and struggle. A gospel that can save us from our worst enemy which is sin and much more serious than a biological pandemic. It has eternal consequences and has a 100 percent infection rate. But know that the disease of sin and all of its symptoms also has a 100 percent cure through the remedy of the cross of Jesus to all who are willing to receive it.

For updates and information, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 page here.

Will Jesus Heal Me?

Will Jesus Heal Me?

By Robert Krumrey

There are many healings performed by Jesus in the four gospels. At times, Jesus seems to be a healing machine, doling out health to everyone who asks. We get this feeling in one of the passages that was read in last Sunday’s (3/1/20) sermon:

“And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.”

— Luke 6:19

We learn from this passage that physical healing is NOT a problem for Jesus. He can dispense it as he wills. These kinds of scripture texts beg a question, “Why doesn’t Jesus heal everyone of all disease?” Especially when Christians are asking for that healing. Every person of faith has surely asked this question. We’ve all been there. Whether it has been us that was sick or someone we love. We’ve all asked Jesus to use his power to heal and have sometimes been met with what seems like silence.

Some in the Christian world say that the reason people don’t get healings is because they don’t have enough faith. There are certainly scriptures that would seem to indicate this. Again, from the book of Luke, we see Jesus saying this to a woman he’s healed:

“And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”

— Luke 7:50

Verses like this and others would tend to bolster the argument that if you have enough faith, you will get the healing that you want from Jesus every time. This may sound good on the surface, but what does it look like in practice. This kind of thinking tends to make Christians superstitious. What I mean by that, is they think that their lack of healing is due to something they are thinking, saying, or doing. For example, in order to show they have faith, they need to not say (or even think) that they are sick, even though they may have a cough or be running a fever. If they slip up, and think or say that they’re sick, they fear they’ve shown a lack of faith which will result in Jesus withholding his healing. This kind of behavior turns into a kind of divination or sorcery that is attempting to manipulate the divine power of Jesus so it can be harnessed for our purposes. This is more Paganism than Christianity. Jesus actually warns us against this in the gospel of Matthew:

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

— Matthew 6:7,8

In this passage, Jesus is warning us not to “heap up empty phrases”. He’s referring to pagan incantations that were used to try to manipulate spiritual powers to do something desirable in a person’s life. This is NOT Christianity and those who propagate this kind of thinking are heaping up confusion and condemnation in the lives of those who buy into this. Notice that Jesus contrasts superstitious incantation with a relationship with God the Father. Jesus tells us when we pray, we aren’t trying to get God to do something through some kind of magical formulae, but instead we are a child talking to a Father. A Father who loves his children. A Father who knows his children so well that he knows what they need BEFORE we ask him.

This is so helpful. I know when my kids ask me for something, sometimes they themselves don’t know what they need. When they were smaller, they never wanted to go to bed. Obviously they NEEDED to go to bed. The quality of their lives (and their parent’s lives) would be greatly improved if they got a full 8-10 hours of sleep. But they didn’t think they needed it. They thought they needed to stay up indefinitely.

We are like this with God. We think what we NEED is absolute bliss. The removal of every ache and pain. The eradication of every roadblock in our lives. So we pray in this way. Asking God to make our life like an uninterrupted vacation. But is this really what we need?

Of course it isn’t. We need to grow in our love for and enjoyment of God and people. We need our character to be shaped to look more like Christ. We need to grow in our understanding and employment of our gifts and calling within the church. We need to be a gospel witness to others in this world who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus. Does it seem probable that God will use both the alleviation and allowance of suffering in our lives to accomplish these kinds of higher purposes? Of course it does. I think Jesus would concur.

When Jesus finds himself suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death on the cross, he prays this:

“saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’”

— Luke 22:42

In this moment, Jesus models for us a godly way to pray. He’s not trying to manipulate something from the Father’s hand. At the same time, he also isn’t afraid to go to the Father and ask for the alleviation of suffering. This is to be our heart towards God as well. Go to him as a child to a Father and ask for anything, including healing, but also know that God knows what we NEED before we ask. He, as the parent, will do what will bring him the most glory and us the most good. Also know that if he chooses not to heal in this life, he will most certainly give grace to bear up under that sickness in ways that will also bring glory to God and good to others. Not only that, know that he will give that healing in a permanent way in the life to come. The reason he can do that, is because he has dealt with the root of all disease and death which is sin.

This is what we see Jesus getting at in many of his physical healings. Take a look at what Luke describes in chapter 5 of his gospel:

“And when he saw their faith, he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’”

— Luke 5:20

Luke says that Jesus “saw their faith” and based on that faith offered the paralyzed man forgiveness of sins. He seems to be saying something similar to the woman healed of an issue of blood in Luke 7 that I mentioned earlier in this article. She’s already physically healed and Jesus in Luke 7:50 says “your faith has saved you”. Luke is putting a major spotlight on the reality that Jesus’ primary goal was proclaiming the message that he is a Savior for sin so that people could trust in him for forgiveness from that sin. This salvation from sin is much better news than alleviation from a temporal physical malady.

All that said, because Jesus has dealt with sin once and for all, we will experience a complete reversal of disease and death. Because the root of these things has been dealt with, we will be healed and we will stay healed forever. Will Jesus heal you? In this life, it will be according to his will which is always glorious, good, and wise. In the life to come, yes!

Am I maturing as a disciple?

Am I maturing?

by Robert Krumrey

Most Christians would agree that every follower of Jesus should be maturing. The Bible is full of verses that support this kind of thinking. Here are just a couple:

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

— 1 Peter 2:1-3

“11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ”

— Ephesians 4:11-13

These scriptures and many more point to the expectation that truly converted Christians grow up in their relationship with Christ and the proof of this is spiritual maturation. All that said, how do I know if I’m maturing? The short answer is a growing love for God and people. This is the great commandment that Jesus points to in the gospels (see Matthew 22:34-40). We grow in our valuation of who God is and what he does AND express that by loving the human beings around us who are all bearing his image. While that is helpful, still we can struggle to know if that is really happening.

A couple of years ago, our staff read a book called Transforming Discipleship that was written by Greg Ogden who also writes the material we use for discipleship groups. In the book, he dedicates an entire chapter to how one might assess Christian maturity. The following questions are an augmented version of what he suggests when thinking about evidence of Christian maturity. Notice that there is a spectrum to consider in each category. For example in the area of spiritual disciplines the spectrum is from 1 (Casual) to 10 (Disciplined). So think of how you approach spiritual disciplines. Do you have a plan in place for them and do you usually execute that plan on most days? If that’s true of you, then you are probably on the disciplined side of things. If you don’t have a plan for spiritual disciplines and rarely get around to them then you are on the casual side of the spectrum.

Take some time to reflect on these questions and prayerfully consider where you’ve grown and where you think you need the most growth. This should be a time for celebrating what God has done by his grace in your life and a time to confess sin and ask for grace to mature in new ways. We NEVER outgrow the need for this kind of thankfulness about what God has done and watchfulness regarding what he wants to do.

Spiritual Disciplines:  Casual vs. Disciplined (1-10)

• How committed am I to the daily disciplines of prayer and bible study?  (Psalm 1)

Bible Knowledge:  Illiterate vs. Informed (1-10)

• How well do I know my Bible such that I can apply its truths to everyday living? (2Timothy 2:15) 

Life Change:  Conformed vs. Transformed (1-10)

• What seems to be the greater shaping agent in my life as a whole – cultural influences or the renewing of my mind by the word of God? (Romans 12:2) 

Church Life:  Optional vs. Essential (1-10)

• How much do I value the community of MERCYhouse and in what ways am I showing this?  (Hebrews 10:25)

Church Ministry:  Passive vs. Proactive (1-10)

• How aware am I of my spiritual gifts and how engaged am I in employing those gifts in the ministry of the church? (Romans 12:3-8) 

Disciple Making:  Inactive vs. Active (1-10)

• How active am I in praying for, engaging with, and evangelizing non-Christians? (Colossians 4:2-4)

• How active am I in praying for, engaging with other Christians for the purpose of facilitating their spiritual growth? (Matthew 28:16-20)

Again, once you look over these, celebrate areas of your life that God has worked in and then consider ONE area that you think is in need of growth. Then pray and think through what you could do to grow in this area. As you do this, always place the gospel at the center of your perspective on growth. Remind yourself that you repent and obey because you are saved by the gospel AND that you repent and obey by the transforming grace that’s been given to you in the gospel.

Gospel Saved . . . and Shaped

What is the gospel and why does it matter?

by Robert Krumrey

What is the gospel and why does it matter? This is a really important question. Christians all over the world are using the word “gospel” and are “preaching” what they claim to be that gospel, but what is it and why should I care?

The gospel is news, good news. This is what the word literally means. The greek word that is translated “gospel” in our bibles is “euangelion”. The “eu” part means good. the “angelion” part means message or news. In last Sunday’s sermon (2/16/20) from Austin Kopack we learned that Jesus came to proclaim this good news AND that Jesus himself is that good news - the news that Jesus is the long awaited messianic King who is going to put all things right; the news that he will do that by saving humanity from their sin through his death and resurrection; the news that he is God and worthy to be worshipped in response to all that is contained in this good news. Believing that this is the only way one can be saved from sin and delivered to eternal life (now and forever) is what some Christians mean when they say someone “got saved”. The Apostle Paul writes of the saving power that’s contained in the gospel in Romans 1:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”

— Romans 1:16a

This gospel is God’s chosen means for saving sinners like you and me. This is the only thing we can lean on for this kind of saving. Once people experience this initial salvation, they aren’t done with the gospel. When someone becomes a Christian, it’s like they’ve just been born (actually reborn, see John 3). Think about your own physical birth. This was a VERY important part of your journey as a human being. You wouldn’t even be here without it. That said, it was just the beginning. You’ve grown a lot since then which couldn’t have happened had you not been born, but still it’s just the beginning. Your spiritual life is like that as well. Once you have put saving faith in the gospel and become a Christian, you’re just getting started, but that start is the most critical part of the process.

So what’s next for a gospel saved Christian? This gospel that saved you also shapes you. Pastor Tim Keller calls this the “gospel-shaped life”. This kind of life is a natural overflow of a life that has been saved by the gospel. Saved people cease to try to save themselves through their performance of good deeds and now allow the saving power of the gospel to move through them through faith. What does this look like on a daily basis? Take a look at the following scriptures that point to the work of Christ as the origination of what Christians display in daily life.

Love

Jesus says this to his disciples - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another”. (John 13:34). Notice that Jesus sees his love for them as first and then their love for each other as an overflow.

Forgiveness

Paul writes to the Colossians -  “forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”. (Colossians 3:13b). Paul appeals to the perfect forgiveness that the Christian has obtained in the gospel as the source of ongoing forgiveness between Christians.

Generosity

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is encouraging the church of Corinth to be generous. He writes this as the key motivator - “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” Again, the gospel message is front and center. The generosity that Jesus expressed to the Christian in the gospel is now being displayed through the Christian to others in daily life.

These are just a few examples but I think you get point. Jesus is in the business of saving and shaping us. We’ll never be shaped if we’re not saved through faith in the news that Jesus has saved us but once saved, that good news gives us a new paradigm that shapes all of life. We aren’t just following a list of do’s and don’ts but instead we are considering how our lives exemplify the good news of Jesus.

Obey by Grace?

Obey by Grace?

by Robert Krumrey

Last Sunday we looked at what it takes to fight against temptation in a world where we must regularly engage in hand to hand warfare with our own indwelling sin (sin), the corporate expression of all that sin (the system), and the demonic forces who are out to accelerate both the sin and it’s corporate expression (Satan). The danger of such a sermon is that we start thinking we have to win these battles in our own strength. Even this attitude of “self-empowerment” is part of the sin within us and the system that we swim in. This attitude will always sabotage our spiritual life.

So how is it that we are to exert our wills in saying no to temptation and obeying God’s commands while at the same time trusting only in his grace? It’s called faith and it is a mystery. The Apostle Paul even refers to the “mystery of faith” (1Timothy 3:9). Even though it is a bit mysterious, every Christians is expected to exhibit this unique way of living life. The writer of Hebrews goes so far as to say that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Think of the implications. I’m doing something that looks like good works and holy living but if it’s not done in faith, it’s worthless.

So how do we live by faith? One way is to constantly remind ourselves of our need for the gospel. That we needed the grace that came from Jesus’ death on the cross to save us from sin. That we need that grace to keep us saved today. That we will need that grace to keep us saved throughout all eternity. The more we become aware of our need and the all sufficient gift of salvation that God has given us in Christ, the more we will lean on that grace instead of our own power. This is why we need to gather with other believers on a regular basis to sing the gospel, hear the gospel preached, and see the gospel in the taking of bread and cup in communion. We also need additional reminders of this grace through our own scripture study and interactions with other Christians in official groups and less formal settings.

Another way to cultivate a life of faith is through prayer. Prayer is such a natural reminder of our need for God’s sustaining grace. Jesus instructs us through the model prayer (Matthew 6, Luke 11) to pray for “daily bread”. This is a powerful admission of need before our Father who loves us and cares about every part of our lives. I’m fairly certain that we are not merely in need of daily bread. We are in need of daily physical energy, daily intellectual wisdom, and daily emotional strength. God in his wisdom orchestrates our lives in such a way that we find ourselves on our knees asking for everything. This undermines our self-sufficiency and shepherds us toward the life of faith.

So how do I know if I’m living by faith? One indicator is the presence of humility in our lives. If we have strength in a certain area and find ourselves looking down on other Christians who don’t have that strength, it’s a red flag that we are not experiencing that area by faith. We should instead, be grateful for whatever growth we have and long for growth in that area for others. We should feel about our growth the same way we feel about our salvation. We have been saved by grace through faith and consequently we can’t boast (Ephesians 2:7,8). The same is true about our ongoing growth (sometimes called sanctification). Any genuine transformation that is occurring in our lives is by grace through faith and there is no room for boasting.

The church leader Augustine writes in The Confessions:

“Give me grace, O Lord, to do as you command, and command me to do what you will.”

and

“…when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them. ”

His life before meeting Christ in the gospel was one of absolute enslavement to sexual sin. He knew full well that his ability to obey was a gift of God’s grace alone. Perhaps our reflection on our own need for grace and the sufficiency of that grace to save us and keep on saving us will bring us to a similar confession.

A Family of Followers

What will it take to follow Jesus?

by Robert Krumrey

We just started our new spring sermon series “Follow”. It’s all about following Jesus - Why we should follow Jesus and How we should follow Jesus. One of the most critical “hows” of following Jesus may surprise you. This how is the necessity of family. Think of this moment when Jesus asks his first followers to leave their nets and follow him.

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

— Matthew 4:18-20

When Jesus asks Peter and Andrew to follow him, he’s not just inviting them into a 1 to 1 relationship with the Son of God. He’s also inviting them into a group, the 12 disciples. Jesus says “follow me” to Peter and Andrew and then walks up to Philip, John, Thomas, James, Judas! . . . and also says “follow me”. I wonder if this was surprising to these disciples. Jesus was calling them not only to himself but also into a family. Things haven’t changed. Jesus is still calling people to follow him and to do so in a family of followers. That family of followers is called the church and has always been plan A for God’s design for discipleship.

If you’ve never joined up with a local church and with a small group of committed disciples who are following Jesus, you’ve not yet experienced the proper context for growth as a disciple. This has always been Jesus’ plan for discipleship. He infuses it into the very ordinances that he commands every Christian to participate in - baptism and communion. Here’s his command to baptize new disciples:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

— Matthew 28:19

Think of the implication of this command from Jesus. The person entering into being baptized is getting a new name. They are now under the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (plural). They have made a radical shift in their identity. That identity is not only attached to the triune God but is also attached to his people. One cannot baptize themselves upon becoming a Christian. They must seek to join themselves to the church and the church must agree to that union.

The same is true regarding communion. The Apostle Paul says this to the church at Corinth:

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

— 1 Corinthians 11:26

How does one “proclaim the Lord’s death” through communion if they aren’t in fellowship with others. There is no other way to do it but to do so in the church. If you are not an official member of MERCYhouse, we encourage you to come to one of our MEET MERCYhouse classes this semester to find out more. The content of these classes includes a bit about the history of our church, basic beliefs, beliefs about baptism, vision and mission of the church. You can rsvp for this class by emailing Meghan at meghan(at)mercyhouse365.org. There are three options for this class this semester:

• Sunday, February 23, 11am-2pm

• Saturday, March 28, 9am-2pm

• Saturday, April 25, 9am-2pm

Not only do you want to be in the church, but you also want to commit yourself to a few others in the church for the purpose of growing in discipleship. We see Jesus using this model as well. He was interacting with large crowds, with medium sized groups (the 72 in Luke 11 for example), but mostly with the twelve. Jesus intentionally formed a small group of people for the purpose of disciple making. We at MERCYhouse are doing the same.

If you haven’t noticed, we are calling everyone who is willing to join a discipleship group. These are small groups of 3-4 who meet weekly to share life, discuss the Bible, and encourage one another in what it means to be disciples of Jesus.

The steps for joining are as follows:

1. Sign-up online HERE

2. Come to our February 5th, 6pm, Kickoff at MERCYhouse - at this kickoff event you’ll find out who your facilitator is and fellow group members. The 3-4 of you will look at your schedules that night to figure out your weekly meeting time. You’ll also be able to buy the discipleship materials for 10 dollars.
   

Got Questions? Reach out to Tommy at tommy(at)mercyhouse365.org.

A Praying Life - Practice, Pray, and Plagiarize

A Praying Life

By Robert Krumrey

We’ve just finished up a four part sermon series over winter break on the topic of prayer. We learned that prayer can include a number of things including adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Last Sunday (1/19/20), Jake Blackwood finished up the series with an excellent sermon on supplication, or the making of a humble plea before God. Throughout the series, we tried to give a few helpful hints for how to put these sermons into practice since prayer really isn’t anything if it’s not practice. So where to begin?

Here are a few more hints for entering into a life of prayer.

Practice

As I said earlier, prayer is nothing if it isn’t put into practice. One of the most important things to understand about praying is that the way you learn to pray is by praying. Don’t be discouraged if it’s hard at first. A lot of things are hard at first - walking, running, reading books, reading music, solving math problems. We expect these things to be hard at first and we keep trying knowing that practice will lead us into a place of proficiency. Strangely enough, we often times don’t think this way about the spiritual life. If it’s hard we think there is something wrong and we quit. Know that it’s similar to most worthwhile things in your life, it is hard and takes practice. So don’t give up and keep working at this. They don’t call prayer a spiritual “discipline” for nothing.

PRAY

Jake said this in his sermon, that we should pray about praying. If you’re struggling with your prayer life, ask God for help. Confess your inability to focus, your lack of motivation, your desire to do other things instead of praying. Our desires for lesser things come from a heart that is jacked up by sin. We can’t subdue it without help. Without the transforming grace that’s been given to us at the cross, we’ll never grow into a praying life. Also pray about what to pray about. Pray for God to give you wisdom about praying (Colossians 1:9). Jot down your thoughts in a journal or on a single sheet of paper that you keep stuck in your Bible. After you pray about WHAT you want to pray for then pray about HOW you want to pray. The best place to go for the how of prayer is the Bible. Think about scripture verses that communicate your requests for the person or situation you are considering. This is a very sure way to pray in accordance with the will of God (1 John 5:14).

Plagiarize

Plagiarize means to take and use ideas, passages, etc., from (another's work). Usually this is a very bad idea, especially if you are writing something and not giving proper citation of the original work of another. That said, when it comes to prayer, one is free to plagiarize and can learn a great deal by doing so. There are a number of books out there that can be training wheels for pray-ers and also a way to pray with the historical and global church. Here are a few suggestions that have been helpful to me and others:

• The Bible - The Bible is always going to be the best place to go to learn to pray. Riff (borrow and elaborate on) on the prayers of God’s people in both Old and New Testaments. The book of Psalms is essentially a book of 150 prayers for every conceivable condition of the human heart.

• Valley of Vision - A compilation of puritan prayer. The depth of these prayers is honestly breath taking in light of today’s shallow spirituality.

• Book of Common Prayer - Written by the Episcopal Church and full of written prayers of all kinds that are put in a rhythm of morning, noon, and night and in accordance with the liturgical church year.

• The Divine Hours - Compiled by the author and includes scripture, liturgy, and various hymns. Also put into a schedule of prayer that is quite extensive but can be adjusted as needed.

• Praying With Paul - This book isn’t for devotional reading per se but explores the prayers of the Apostle Paul and reflects on how these prayers can inform our own prayer life. The MH staff team read this and found it quite challenging and helpful.

What kinds of ideas do you have regarding helps for structuring a prayer life? Post below!

DO try this at home!

by Robert Krumrey

We have been looking at the acrostic A.C.T.S. in our winter break sermon series. It’s something that Christians have used for years to help them pray in a more meaningful (and biblical) way. It stands for the following:

A - Adoration

C - Confession

T - Thanksgiving

S - Supplication (or the making of requests)

You can find this pattern throughout scripture from the encounters of individuals with God to specific teaching on prayer including the Lord’s Prayer or model prayer that is given to us by Jesus in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. Over the last three weeks you’ve heard sermons on the first three of these themes and next Sunday we’ll finish up the fourth and final theme.

Our hope has been that these sermons would help mature your prayer life and deepen your daily experience of the living God. So what does this look like when you “try this at home”? My suggestion is that you start with reading a text from scripture. Most of us struggle to adore God and confess sin and make proper prayer requests if we try to do this in a vacuum. We need the initiation from God first through his word and then we can respond with prayer back to him.

For example, let’s say you read a text like the following:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

Adoration

There are several prompts in this very short verse of scripture that can help us know how to ADORE God. Ask yourself what any verse in the Bible says about the person of God. What he is like? The answer to this question will be scripturally informed ways to praise God for who he truly is. Our prayerful response to this verse could be, “God you are kind and tenderhearted. You are forgiving. You have proven this by sending your Son. I couldn’t approach you with worship and adoration, if you hadn’t first shown your kindness toward me in Christ. I praise you for being so good.”

Confession

Once we get a better look at the character of God we now look at our own character. This ushers us into a time of CONFESSION. Our prayerful response to the verse could be, “God, I am NOT tenderhearted and forgiving. Especially toward _____________. This shows my lack of love for others. A love that I cannot exhibit without your intervention into my life. Please forgive me and grant me repentance by your grace so that I can be tenderhearted and forgiving toward others just as you were to me.”

Thanksgiving

After confession, we should feel a weight being lifted off of our souls. A reminder that we have been completely forgiven in Christ because of his death on the cross which was an all sufficient payment for our sins and sinful condition. If we are still feeling as if we are under condemnation, we go back to confession. Confessing that we are lacking in our ability to believe in the gospel that has set us free from sin’s penalty and power. Once we feel like we’ve functionally (positionally this is true regardless of feelings) moved into that place of knowing the forgiveness that comes to us in Christ, we now move into THANKSGIVING. “I thank you God for your tenderhearted forgiveness that you have given me at the cross. For the gift of your Son Jesus and all that his death, burial, and resurrection mean to me both in this life and the life to come. Thank you not only for forgiveness for sin, but also for the victory over sin that is mine through God the Son in the power of God the Spirit.”

Supplication

Now that we have Adored God, Confessed to God, and Thanked God, we can make requests (SUPPLICATION). Continue to allow the scripture reading to prompt you in these prayers as well. “God give me grace to be tenderhearted and forgiving toward _______________ . As you have been kind to me, help me be kind to _______________. I pray for my spouse, my children, my church, my pastor, my discipleship group members, my friends . . . that they would come to know your tenderhearted forgiveness in Christ OR that they (if they are Christians) would be given grace to show tender and forgiving hearts to their spouse, children, church, coworkers . . .

This kind of devotional reading of scripture can be an incredibly helpful tool for deepening your prayer life. If I don’t do this, I find myself praying the same things over and over. Those same things tend to be “make life comfortable for me and the one’s I love, Amen”. These prayers are not all bad, but they are certainly not informed by scripture and completely in line with the person of God and his mission on the earth of saving the lost and conforming them the the image of Christ.

There’s no better time than the present, pick a scripture right now and use it to inform a time of prayer using the A.C.T.S. acrostic!